In recent years, the matrix display system is one of the most commonly applied systems for surface-discharge type Plasma Display Panels (hereafter referred to as PDPs) used for image display in computers, televisions, and the like.
A surface-discharge type PDP, which is a typical example in which the matrix display system is used, comprises a front panel on which scan electrodes and sustain electrodes are disposed alternately and in parallel with each other, and a rear panel on which address electrodes are disposed in parallel, the rear panel being disposed in parallel with the front panel with a spacing member interposed therebetween in a manner that the address electrodes orthogonally intersect the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes. A cell is formed at each of the intersections of the three electrodes. In a surface-discharge type PDP, firstly a wall charge is generated in the address discharge stage during which an address pulse is applied to a scan electrode and an address electrode of the cell that is to emit light, and secondly a surface discharge is generated by a sustain pulse being applied alternately to the scan electrode and the sustain electrode of the cell where the wall charge has been generated. According to this kind of method, it is possible to change the luminance of the PDP freely by adjusting the frequency of the sustain discharges generated between the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes. There is, however, a possibility of an unnecessary surface discharge occurring in an adjacent cell during the sustain discharge period due to the structure where the scan electrodes and the sustain electrodes are disposed alternately, and each scan electrode is therefore positioned adjacent to a sustain electrode that belongs to an adjacent cell.
In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 8-212933 discloses a technique to arrange so that a cell and its adjacent cell have electrodes of a same kind being positioned adjacent to each other, by reversing, cell by cell, the order in which a scan electrode and a sustain electrode are disposed, instead of providing a scan electrode and a sustain electrode alternately. According to this technique, electrodes of two cells positioned adjacent to each other have the same electric potential even at times of sustain discharges; it is therefore possible to inhibit unnecessary surface discharges occurring between the two adjacent cells at times of sustain discharges.
The above-mentioned prior art however presents a possibility of having an error discharge at times of address discharges. More specifically, at times of address discharges, a wall charge is usually generated through a process where a discharge between a scan electrode and an address electrode induces another discharge between a scan electrode and a sustain electrode. According to the technique disclosed in the laid-open application, since a sustain electrode is positioned adjacent to another sustain electrode of an adjacent cell, an address discharge may spread over to the sustain electrode of the adjacent cell. Consequently, due to the discharge, there is a possibility that the amount of wall charge near the sustain electrode in the adjacent cell could be changed (called an error discharge), and that the address discharge in the adjacent cell cannot be generated properly. Especially, PDPs of fine display quality have more possibilities of having such improper address discharges in an adjacent cell since the distances between cells are short and the amount of wall charge in the adjacent cell may be easily changed.
In light of the problem stated above, an object of the present invention is to provide a driving method and a driving apparatus for PDPs by which it is possible to inhibit occurrence of improper address discharges in such PDPs in which one cell and its adjacent cell have their respective sustain electrodes positioned adjacent to each other.